A fragment of this map was discovered in 1929 at Topkapi Palace. Scientists were immediately attracted by the fact that the outlines of the coasts of North and South America are depicted on paper. But the date on the map, 1512, made that nearly impossible. After all, Columbus discovered America only 21 years ago, so the cartographer from Turkey, who travels very little, could not know the outlines of the continents.
However, the admiral and cartographer Piri Reis made his map based on about 20 scientific works from different eras. He even used those that were created during the reign of Alexander the Great. And in total, he created a unique map that is still controversial to this day. After all, she was ahead of her time by several centuries …
Undiscovered land
Lands and relief features were plotted on the map, discovered only several decades later. Okay, he could portray the American continents. But the Andes were discovered years after the creation of the map. And at Piri Reis their exact location was plotted. He also painted islands around the continents, which exactly coincide with the existing ones.
Accuracy
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The map was designed with extraordinary precision, even the length of the equator was measured with an error of only 100 km.
Antarctica
But the most important mystery is the outlines of the under-ice coast of Antarctica. Not only was the continent discovered only 300 years later, but also the outlines on the map were depicted under the ice. Such data were obtained only in the 1950s with large-scale research. The outlines of the continent, taking into account the ice cover, have completely different parameters.
Experts have confirmed that the lines of the continent drawn on the 1512 map coincide with the subglacial outline of Antarctica. How did the Turkish cartographer manage to depict what he could not know? After all, the ice sheet appeared on the mainland millions of years ago. Scientists have several versions. Those who believe in the truthfulness of the data on the map believe that Piri Reis could have used information from ancient civilizations. Very ancient, living millions of years ago … But does this theory have the right to exist? The earliest civilization originated about 6 thousand years ago.
Most of the researchers believe that these are still inaccurately drawn unexplored lands. Near Antarctica, Piri Reis wrote that there is a warm climate and snakes are found. So the "Antarctica" of the cartographer is nothing more than unexplored lands similar to the mainland. In addition, the outlines are similar, but still not very accurate due to the small scale.
What do you think? Did Piri Reis really draw an accurate map of Antarctica, or was he just "lucky"?